Rio del Norte

by Carroll L. Riley

Based on the most up-to-date archaeological and historical research, Rio del Norte is a tour de force, highlighting the upper Rio Grande region and its diverse peoples across some twelve thousand years of continuous history. Over eleven millenia ago, Paleoindians tracked mammoth and bison in the Rio Grande Basin. As the Ice Ages ended and arid conditions caught hold, the place of the Paleoindians was taken by bands of hunters and gatherers who long maintained a presence in the valleys, deserts, and mountains. Three thousand years ago the idea of domesticated plants filtered up from Mexico. The Basketmaker-Pueblo, or Anasazi, appeared in the early centuries of the common era and flourished in the San Juan basin and the Four Corners region for several centuries. Anasazi occupation of the San Juan region ended about seven hundred years ago, yet that same period saw a quickening along the Rio Grande and its tributaries. Large towns appeared, some holding several thousand people who practic